Fragaria vesca

Fragaria vesca: Pocket-Sized Berries Hiding Underfoot

This native woodland strawberry is a groundcover that pays you back. Small white flowers, then tiny red berries that taste like summer and never make it to the kitchen. YOU WILL EAT THEM ALL STANDING IN THE GARDEN.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Fragaria vesca
• Common Name: Woodland Strawberry
• Height: 5–20 cm (2–8 in)
• Spread: 15–30 cm (6–12 in) per plant, spreading further by runners
• Flowers: Small, white, five-petalled flowers with yellow centres, followed by small, edible red berries
• Bloom Time: Late spring to midsummer (May to July)
• Foliage: Bright green leaves in sets of three with toothed edges
• Features: Edible fruit, spreading groundcover

Where to Plant: Use it as a groundcover under shrubs, along a woodland edge, between stepping stones, or at the front of a native garden. It fits well in edible and children's gardens, and since it moves around by runners, plant it where a bit of wandering is welcome.

Companion Plants: Let woodland strawberry carpet a moist bed in sun or part shade with violets, lobelia and fireweed. Viola sororia opens purple-blue violets at 15 to 25 cm from April to June. Lobelia siphilitica adds blue lobelia spikes at 60 to 90 cm from July to September. Epilobium angustifolium brings rosy magenta fireweed at 120 to 150 cm from June to August. Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' adds black, grass-like tufts at 15 to 25 cm for contrast.

Plant Care: Plant in average, well-drained soil with some organic matter. It does best with light afternoon shade, and berries are most plentiful with a few hours of sun. Water through the first season. Once established, it handles short dry spells, though fruit will be smaller in drought. Runners root wherever they touch soil. Snip them off to keep it contained, or let them fill in. Pot up rooted runners to share with friends. Little cleanup is needed. Remove dead leaves in early spring if the patch looks tired, and thin crowded patches every few years.

History: The woodland strawberry grows wild across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including Ontario and Quebec, where it's found in open woods, clearings and old fields. Gardeners in Europe grew it for centuries before the large garden strawberry existed.

Final Thoughts: Let it ramble along a path edge and share with the chipmunks if you must. SNACKS, LANDSCAPING AND NO GROCERY BILL.